Hello my pretties, welcome back!
I am obviously a big proponent of doing your own labor. My husband changes the oil in our cars, we do almost all of our own home maintenance, (new roof = hiring people who know how to not fall while standing on a steep slope) we cook from scratch and I have never once paid anyone to clean my house or work on my yard. (However, I would currently pay someone $10,000 to get my 16-year-old son to clean his room, but that’s another post for another day.)
So when a sort through my jewelry stash uncovered three gorgeous, yet broken semi-precious stone necklaces, (garnet, tourmaline and amethyst) I knew my next project was to get them back into circulation. (My mother-in-law sells staggeringly beautiful stone beads for a living, and she always makes me a necklace for Christmas. I have been with my husband for 25 years, so yeah, I own a lot of necklaces!)
Armed with my you-can-do-it attitude, (this is to be spoken aloud in a Bela Karolyi accent) I took my broken necklaces down to the local bead shop to buy the supplies for restringing.
The knowledgable clerk started to tell me how I should do a certain finicky technique to loop the string to the clasp so it wouldn’t bend and break so easily. At this point I’m starting to think this project might be a bit over my head. But then . . . she mentioned that the store charges $12.50 per hour to restring necklaces. As I was currently in the midst of picturing myself spending hour after frustrating hour recreating elaborate pattern necklaces, it was as if the clouds parted and a beam of light shone upon my face.
This woman in front of me knows exactly what she’s doing, and is willing to completely (and properly) fix all three of my necklaces for $12.50 an hour! And since she estimated that the job would only take two hours, I could hand this job over and know it would get done correctly and promptly for twenty five buckeroonies.
In the end it cost $30.25, which included a sterling silver clasp, supplies and some extra beads to replace ones that scattered too far to be found. (One of the necklaces broke at work, and I even had a Perinatologist on her hands and knees at the nursing station helping me to gather up tiny garnet beads!)
Could I have tackled this project on my own? You betcha’! But I would not have had access to extra garnet beads, the crimping tool, and probably some other stuff I don’t even know about.
And the best part is that it only took two days, and I’m now getting to wear my favorite jewelry again. Plus, I get to feel good about supporting a local small business!
Win-win-win!
Are there ways that you pay others to do the stuff you either don’t know how to do or simply hate doing? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
I’d so have done the same thing!
I felt that way about paying Sucuri to fix my malware attack on my blog. Could I maybe have figured it out myself with enough time and help from Google? Yes.
But the enormous sense of relief I felt in handing over that task to someone else confirmed that I’d made the right decision.
Restringing these necklaces had the potential to be a huge disaster. The beading pattern is e-l-a-b-o-r-a-t-e!
Katy
Ooooo I have a great example. I have a much beloved pair of Oxfords whose laces were so slippery I’d have to pull them too much in order for the shoes to fit well. The leather actually TORE one time I tried to lace them up. Now, I could never in a thousand years try to repair leather shoes, but they’re nice enough that repair would be less than the cost of a new pair.
The repair was only $20 and included new, less slippery, laces that I don’t have to put nearly as much force on in order to feel snug in my shoes. YAY! And I used my local cobbler, so I was able to support a local business!
I love getting shoes repaired. It just feels like such a statement.
Katy
Yes! Getting shoes repaired is a super satisfying expenditure for me. I try to consider whether a shoe is resolable even before I buy it now.
Absolutely! I am a big believer in hiring an expert.
As a side note, a handful of parents have hired me to work with their teens to organize their rooms. The results are fantastic!
I’m good at figuring out interesting and engaging organizational systems. However, I’m apparently not too good at getting my son interested in the job. And I really don’t want to the the kind of mom who does everything for her children.
Katy
You might need to make him an offer he can’t refuse. Sixteen is hard sometimes.
Today is the day. It was supposed to be yesterday, but today it is.
Katy
I think there’s alot to be said about recognizing when it’s time to outsource.
We pay to have an accountant do our taxes for us. It just bores me to death and is so worth the money, even though it’s a chunk of cash.
Kim
There are some jobs worth paying for! Sometimes (about once a year) I pay a yard work crew to spend a day in my yard. It makes all the difference in the world, I’m caught up and I can then KEEP up with the rest of it!
Lucky to have a mother law that makes such fabulous jewelry!
Yes, I am very lucky.
Katy
We used to never hire anyone for anything, but one thing about being a tightwad is that you eventually find that you have a good stash of money. Now we feel much more inclined to pay other people to do stuff.
I paid my way through undergrad by working as a maid and now that I have the money myself, I have never felt akward about hiring anyone to clean my house—despite shaming by some feminist friends. I would rather read than clean house. Since I spent my 20s living so thrifty that I now own my house outright and have no debts other than the monthly utilities, and today my husband and I seldom buy new and recycle relentlessly, my splurge is having someone clean once a week. My husband’s splurge is always hiring someone to do anything connected with plumbing or sewers.
I do my own cleaning with one exception: when we move, I always hire a cleaner to do the final clean out, whether the house was sold and being given to a new owner, or whether we were renting and needed to have it perfect in order to get a deposit back. Once our furniture and stuff are in the new place, I just can’t stand to go back and do the big clean on the old place. I always budget this cost as part of the move, and choose an local, independent cleaner or service. After reading Barbara Ehrenreich’s “Nickel and Dimed”, where she spent time working for a national cleaning company to illustrate how abused the working poor are, I’d never hire one of those companies. I wish everyone would pay for a professional cleaning—2 of the places we moved into in the last several years (one we bought, one which was a rental) were pretty filthy when we got there and I ended up having to clean out the cupboards etc. before I dared unpack anything!
I always do a deep deep cleaning when I move, as I want every penny of the deposit back!
Katy
I have a thought on how to get your son to clean his room. Have you seen the iphone post on pinterest where the mother texts her child that she will be gone for the weekend and has hidden $100 for food in their room? So what’s his favorite small item and how hard would he look for it?
Dog Grooming. Requires special equipment and know-how that I have never, ever, ever been interested in learning in all my years of dog ownership. Baths and nail clipping? Sure thing. Got it covered. But if there are clippers involved, I’m out.
another good thing here is that you paid a skilled local artisan to repair this. is didn’t get sent faraway, so the money you spent re-circulates here in pdx and helps keep a local business (which pays local taxes and hires local people), well, in business.
In the interest of supporting small business why not put a link to the local beadery & your MIL’s ware in this post?
I will pay someone to groom the dog because that is just what I want out of my doggie relationship. I’m also working out a lovely barter for someone to install my new floors. Bartering is even better than paying!
Okey-doke. Here’s a link to the bead store, which is called, “Beads at Dusti Creek:”
http://www.beadsatdusticreek.com/
And my MIL doesn’t have a website.
Katy
Thanks for the link – I too have a couple of necklaces that need to be restrung. I know this place, too – right next door to Petite Provence (yum).
Exactly! Yum . . .
Katy
Did you see on their website: They take old jewelry trade-ins. You get store credit for your trade-ins. Another thing to look for at garage sales and Goodwill! AnnW
We pay to have our taxes done when we MIGHT be able to them ourselves. Our big splurge is to pay for others to cook for in the form of eating out! I can cook but chose not to most days and hubby can’t do much beyond make a sandwich. But here is the thing; he is retired and I work full time and we are in very good shape financially. House paid for, no debt, good income and substantial investments plus a pension. We are frugal folks at heart though and have always lived way below our means. We KNOW we could save a lot of money by eating out less but we enjoy it and it is worth it to us. I suspect when (if) I retire that I will want to cook more and we will eat out less but for now we happily trade our $$ for food.
I love this! You eating out is supporting your local economy,(as long as you’re not choosing chains like Olive Garden and Applebee’s.)
Katy
It always confuses me ss to why people think that by patronizing a chain establishment. That it doesn’t support the local economy…….don’t they pay taxes, hire local people, support local schools/teams, etc. Am I missing something?
I’m with you, but I think the idea is that it’s supporting a large chain, rather than a small mom & pop restaurant where the money stays 100% in the community. By going to Olive Garden you’re supporting the local people who are living in your community, but also the large, national corporation.
I personally think there’s a time and place for both! When I go away I love to find small, locally owned places to eat, but you know what? I love Five Guys, too!
But their accountant is local, their advertising agency is local, etc. etc.
Katy
There are a lot of statistics out there but here is one:
For every $1 spent at local businesses, 45¢ is reinvested locally. Non-local purchases keep, at most, 15¢ in your local community.
That is from this website which has a lot of other good reasons listed
http://thinkshopbuylocal.com/why.htm
Forgot to add that I love your necklaces and I make jewelry too so the repair tasks would have been something I could do. I applaud you for having the repairs done for you as you really do need the right tools to have a professional looking repair.
I had a similar experience with an olive wood necklace I had owned for many years. The fiber string broke, luckily at home where I could find all the beads. I had it restrung with sturdy metal wire for less than $20. It is one of my favorites and so I did not mind the expense. As you pointed out, the jewelry repair person had all the tools and knowledge.
We have a ceiling fan that will (eventually) get hung in our front room because it doesn’t have a ceiling light. Though my husband is handy, we’ve both agreed that electrical work is much better suited to an expert!
This summer we also farmed out our plumbing issue, but…that was to my brother-in-law, who is a plumber! The whole job only cost us tickets to a baseball game ($15 each, because my husband gets a discount through work), beer and the supplies!
I normally just lurk on your blog but had to comment today. My dog has a fairly common rear end problem that the groomer showed me how to take care of myself. However, the icky-ness factor and resulting smell and mess make it totally worth the $15 it costs me to have the vet do it for me. Same with his toenails, it is worth another $15 to have the vet trim his nails safely and without fight in 10 minutes instead of me spending all day wrestling him. I agree with doing it myself as much as I can, and agree also that sometimes we can put a price on our free time and sanity! You are very inspiring!
That sounds like *THE BEST* $15 a person could ever spend. (And keep in mind I am a labor and delivery nurse!)
Anal glands? Blegh.
Katy
If you clip the dogs nails right after a bath when they are soft its much less of an ordeal. quality clippers are a must too.
I agree with you on both counts! My little boy dog does NOT like to have his paws touched, and pulls away just when I’ve got the clipper almost to his nails. The vet charges $10 for that, and another $10 for anal glands.
Completely worth it!
What is it about being in the vet’s office that keep them calm when clipping nails. Fear maybe? I agree it’s worth it, and when my senior dog goes for her twice a year checkups, we get hers trimmed. When we do trim at home, she yelps like we’ve hurt her as we are going toward the first nail. Then of course there’s the cat, who I wrap up in a blanket while husband trims her nails, all the while she is spitting and hissing and wailing.
I say hire a pro whenever the project is not within your scope of expertise. Our DIY bathroom remodel is a disaster. We can’t currently use the bathroom, there are constant fights with hubby and me and it is costing us $1,000’s on top of what we have already paid for materials. I don’t even have a final $ figure yet.
Hahaha, when I read “perinatologist” all I could think of was “perineum” and I was like… what the heck? They have a MD just for your perineum??? LOL!
They must be proctologists with an extra year of training. 😉
They used the same ‘ploy’ about this that they use to get guys to not change their own oil….it’s too difficult, it requires special tools, you’re not capable of this. All untrue in most cases as we all know. But…I think it is more a matter of what someone considers a ‘fair and reasonable trade’ of money for goods (in all of the situations mentioned above). Of course you could say that for any financial transaction, but we all know how to judge value better than most!! *lol*
Personally, my ‘won’t touch’ is electrical stuff. I don’t care if it has been shut off at the breaker box, it still shocks me.
Starching my husband’s dress shirts. I am a stay at home mom who tries to do everything myself, but sometimes this is my splurge. I used to starch them all myself, even mixing my own starch. Then one day he put on a shirt and complained that it was not stiff enough. That was it. He now pays that bill and knows better than to say a word about it!
In the 15 years we have been in our 83 year old house we have done most of the work ourselves. We did pay to have our broken sewer line replaced–neither one of us is qualified to operate a backhoe! (And in our city this is a job that requires a permit to be pulled by a professional.) We also paid someone to put a subfloor in our kitchen -after watching the process, in spite of the problem we had that caused us to hire someone in the first place, we probably could have done it, but not in less than a day and with no cursing, so really it was money well spent! And sometime in the next few months we will be paying someone to replace the roof, but are not opposed to bartering it with a roofer who needs a new HVAC system since that is what my husband does for a living! With some jobs, there is a definite quality and safety factor in hiring a pro. Other times, it does come down to what your time is worth and if you can afford to hire someone to get it done. I wish I could afford to hire someone to work on our basement right now, because while we have the skills, it is a job that is going on forever for lack of time to dedicate to it. I want my new sewing room to be finished, and that basement bathroom fixed up–but I NEED a new roof….!!!!
I think age and physical condition have lots to do with the decision to do a job or hire someone to do it. I did everything for myself until I just could not complete a job satisfactorily. I did all my yard work until it was taking all summer to get things in order. I paid. I mowed my yard until I could no more. I paid.
However, the idea that I don’t have tools is something that never stopped me. I buy the tool I need and can do the job from then on. I bought the antifreeze tester and can take care of my own antifreeze instead of joining long lines of people frantically needing a “Professional” to check the car.
Plumbing is the only thing that makes me back off. However, I have all sorts of wrenches for the metal pipes and the glue and teflon tape for pvc pipes. I am fully prepared for the guy who will help me…lol…men are surprised I have tools.
Putting in a 220 plug in the dining room and the heating element in the oven have earned me respect all over. I even stood on a chair after knee surgery and installed an outdoor light with the electricity on! I kept wondering why my fingers tingled. The electrician had installed the light switch control in the wrong position, so I thought I had flipped the proper switch inside the door to the house.
Even with a few physical limitations, I rarely pay anyone to do anything for me. Repairing shoes and purses is the one thing that is worth the extra expense.
I have tutored a high school student in algebra in exchange for the father installing a stove after he cut the cabinet out. Barter works. Sometimes, it is just a matter of helping someone who has helped me with something beyond me.
Decorating the house. Get somebody else to do it every time. It’s like Jean said “less than a day, no cursing” which is the best possible reason to hire people who have invested the 10,000 hours to become an expert!
my husband changed his own oil for years (and mine, after we met). he just discovered that the local dealership offers oil changes for less than what he would pay for supplies for changing the oil himself. if the prices go up he’ll go back to doing it himself, but until then the dealership gets the business!
Those are beautiful necklaces – you definitely made the right decision :).
Yes, we hire out our yard work (mowing and weedeating) every 10 days. We pay our guy less than an hours worth of my husband’s pay, so it is most definately worth it to us. The man who does the work has a professional machine so is much faster than we could be, plus there is no maintenance cost and time for us, and space needed to store it. Most importantly to me: My husband has a stressful job, and it allows him more free time to do fun things, such as take long bicycle rides and run.
Thanks for pointing that out. I already knew that they take your leftover beads.
Katy